Netball at the Commonwealth Games
Netball's place in the Commonwealth Games: when it joined the programme, its format, and how it complements the Netball World Cup.
Netball is one of the flagship team sports at the Commonwealth Games, bringing together national teams from across the Commonwealth every four years alongside the standalone Netball World Cup.
Joining the Commonwealth Games
Netball was included in the Commonwealth Games programme for the first time at the 1998 Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — the sport's Commonwealth Games debut, more than three decades after the first Netball World Cup in 1963. See history of netball for how this fits into the sport's broader international growth.
Format
As at the Netball World Cup, national teams — representing Commonwealth nations and territories rather than the wider international field — compete through group stages followed by knockout rounds to decide medals. Because entry is restricted to Commonwealth members, the field differs from the Netball World Cup, which draws from World Netball's full global membership.
Why it matters to the sport
The Commonwealth Games gives netball a share of the spotlight within a major multi-sport event, alongside sports like athletics and swimming, raising its profile in a way a standalone netball tournament can't replicate on its own.
Where this page stops
This page covers what netball's Commonwealth Games history and format are, not live results or the schedule for the next Games — check the Commonwealth Sport or World Netball official sites for current tournament information.
Related reading
See Netball World Cup for the sport's standalone international tournament, and history of netball for the fuller story of the sport's international development.